Irving Berlin wrote "How Dry I Am" in anticipation of Prohibition, envisioning a bleak future without alcohol.
It was never a big hit, but the uplifting "Mr. Blue Sky" has endured as Electric Light Orchestra's most popular song. Group leader Jeff Lynne wrote it when after two weeks of gloomy weather, the clouds parted to reveal a beautiful day.
Rod Stewart wrote "Maggie May" about the woman who deflowered him when he was 16.
When "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" climbed to #1 on the Hot 100, Katy Perry became the first woman to send five songs from one album to the top of the charts. The four previous chart-toppers from her Teenage Dream set were "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework" and "E.T."
Willa Ford came up with her hit "I Wanna Be Bad" when her record company told her to tone down her music in a effort to differentiate her from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who were in their "bad girl" eras.
Bob Seger's song "Beautiful Loser" was inspired by book Leonard Cohen published in 1966 called Beautiful Losers.
Was Justin the first to be Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher? Did Britney really blame him for her meltdown? Did his bandmates think he was gay?
"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.
The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.
The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
The guy who brought us "Stacy's Mom" also wrote the Jane Lynch Emmy song and Stephen Colbert's Christmas songs.